Christmas Fayre
Sunday 8th December from 12noon to 3pm
The St Edmund Campion Christmas Fayre is fast approaching! Some of the stalls we run rely on donations, so we would be really grateful for any donations:
- Bottle Tombola - wine/beer/bubble bath or any bottles, please bring these to church before the 6th December or to the school hall between 10am and 1pm on Saturday 7th December.
- Cakes - we would be really grateful for any cake donations either to the school hall between 10am and 1pm on Saturday 7th December or before 12pm on the day of the fayre.
- Raffle tickets - There are great prizes to be won! Tickets will be available in the church foyer.
Christmas Stars
Once again we will be doing our Christmas Stars. Last year there were 76 stars which raised over £700, and also decorated the altar walls beautifully! To briefly explain for those unfamiliar with the stars, the idea is that, instead of sending Christmas cards to all your friends in the parish, you just write a message on a star, (available in the porch from the beginning of December) decorate it if you wish, and put it on the wall around the altar. Hopefully we can have a wonderful display of bright stars again. Then, think of the money you have saved on cards and stamps, and time and effort writing and delivering them, and give a donation to charity. There will be a box for your donation in the porch or via the contactless machine (select Christmas Stars option), or you can give it to Barbara McWalter at 11:15 Mass or to Ruth in the office. The charity this year will be St Vincent de Paul (SVP) Maidenhead. Thank you in advance for your usual generosity for this very worthy cause.
The Loss and Bereavement Support Group
There will be no meeting this month, but please join us on Sunday 12th January from 2:30pm in the Parish Centre.
Church is open
For daily Mass
and private prayer
We would love to
welcome you in prayer.
Watch live
See below for times
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Mass Times
During the winter months, weekday Masses are held in the Parish Centre from Monday to Thursday. Friday Mass will be in the church as usual.
Note: This means there will be no online stream on these days.
Mass will be available online via YouTube from about 15 minutes before Mass starts (see below). Just click on the YouTube icon to connect.
Masses
| Mass | Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 9:30am | No |
| 11:15am | YouTube | |
| Monday | 9:30am | No |
| Tuesday | 9:30am | No |
| Wednesday | 9:30am | No |
| Thursday | 9:30am | No |
| Friday | 10am | YouTube |
| Saturday | 6:15pm | No |
Parish Reconciliation Services
Advent is a wonderful time to celebrate the reconciling love and the healing graces our Lord offers us. Reconciliation is what God does. Receiving it and celebrating it is what we do. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a natural way to celebrate God’s forgiveness and love. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the wonderful opportunity to grow closer to God — Advent before the celebration of Christmas and Lent before the celebration of Easter. Please try and attend and participate in one of the following Services.
- Wednesday, 11th: 7pm at St Edmund Campion Church
- Saturday, 14th: 11am at St Edward's Church, Windsor
- Wednesday, 18th: 7pm at St Francis, Ascot
- Thursday, 19th: 7pm at St Thomas More Church, Twyford
- Saturday, 21st: 11am at St Joseph's
Christmas Community Choir
REHEARSAL DATE: If you enjoy singing and would like to take part in a choir at the Christmas Eve carol service, please join us! The next get together will be in the church on Sunday 15th December to learn the Sussex Carol. All ages and abilities welcome, but please make sure children are accompanied. Please let Suzy know at swilliams30034@gmail.com if you have any questions.
W.O.R.K.
How Many Gifts Will You Give This Year That Change a Life? This Christmas, make every gift count. In Rural Kenya even the smallest gesture can transform the life of a widow or orphan. Start changing lives today with gifts from the W.O.R.K Store from just £10. Some of the possibilities include:
- A Bike: Help a child get to school and build their future.
- Mosquito Nets: Protect families from malaria.
- A Cow: Provide nourishment and economic stability.
- Sanitary Essentials: Support health and dignity for women and girls.
- A New Roof: Shelter a family in need.
- College Fees: Empower students to reach their dreams.
SVP Appeal
Every week there are new arrivals at the local asylum seeker hotel which the SVP have been supporting with the help of kind donations from parishioners. What we need most at the moment are new packs of underwear, socks and donations of any summer clothes in medium size for women and especially for men. If you can help please drop any donations to the parish office.
We are also always looking for hosts for homeless refugees. If you would like to talk about what might be involved in hosting please contact us on 07749 917134.
SVP Needs You
St Vincent de Paul (SVP) Maidenhead Treasurer and Secretary voluntary roles. SVP Maidenhead is looking to fill two important voluntary roles as soon as possible. Both the Treasurer and Secretary roles make a real difference in enabling SVP to run smoothly, including our monthly meetings on the first Monday of every month. Neither role is particularly demanding in terms of time commitment and a full handover from the current post holders will be arranged. Furthermore, individuals who may be interested are not required to become full members of SVP - associate membership can be arranged if preferred. If any parishioners are interested in either role, please contact Hilda on 07749 917134 or Peter on 07976 625813. Please also feel free to pass on this request to anyone you feel may be interested. The members of SVP Maidenhead would greatly appreciate any support in helping to fill these important role.
FOODSHARE
We are a collection point for Foodshare. Our collection area is just inside the porch doors, but if you leave food outside, out of hours (in a bag or other covering) the building is regularly checked. Foodshare are currently really in need of tinned vegetables and tinned meat, amongst all the regular donations.
We are currently helping over 120 families a week through food parcels and the Foodshare shop. We are running our "Holiday Hunger" program during the summer holidays. We provide breakfast food to schools and free lunches twice a week. There is more information on our website foodshare.charity. We are currently in need of financial donations. Donations can be made via the Foodshare website.
Welcome
Everyone at St Edmund Campion Parish in Maidenhead welcomes you to our Catholic community. Hopefully you will find all the information you are looking for - if not, please contact us and we will answer any questions you may have.
If you would like to know more about us and what we do, take a look at our Welcome Brochure. We look forward to meeting you soon.
The address of the Church and office is: 40a Altwood Road, Maidenhead. Berks. SL6 4PY. Details of how to find us are here.
Pastoral Area Update December 2024
Fr Liam has written another letter providing an update on the progress of the new Pastoral Area:
Dear Friend and Parishioner,
As we prepare for Christmas in this season of Advent, I wanted to update you on what’s been going on in our new expanded Parish formation, as part of the 10-year mission plan: 'You will be my Witnesses'.
I updated you in October on the response from the Bishop to our report to explain how we, the churches in Maidenhead, Twyford, Wargrave, Cookham and Culham, as well as the convent, want to come together to create the new Parish of Holy Family.
You will recall, one of our main proposals in our plan is that we launch our Holy Family Parish formally on Pentecost Sunday 8th June, 2025. This is still our intention. We may not have everything aligned by then (due to canonical law we have a lot of formal steps to take, which don’t affect the new parish), but it seems fitting that we come together and celebrate our new parish at Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, marking the beginning of Christianity as a new community, and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples to transform them as missionaries.
Read about what have we been doing since October in the latest letter here (December 2024).
You can read the previous letter here (October 2024) and the earlier letters are here (May 2024), here (February 2024), and here (November 2023).
Take a look at Parish plan presented to the Bishop here (August 2024).
Parish Priest
I am Liam Cummins and I come from Ireland. I'm the eldest of four children (three boys and one girl).
As a Mill Hill Missionary (millhillmissionaries.com), I have spent a good period of my adult life ministering in Africa, namely Cameroon and Kenya.
I was appointed to England to do Mission Animation (Missio and Mill Hill) for a number of Dioceses in 2012. I really enjoyed this work and it involved a good amount of travelling and meeting lots of people. Read more.
Parish Register
If you want to be added to the Parish Register, please see the priest.
Download, print and complete the Parish Registration Form.
If your details change, or you have an addition to the family, please contact the Parish Secretary to make sure that your entry is up to date and includes all your children.
Edmund Campion
"I have no more to say but to recommend your case and mine to Almighty God, the Searcher of Hearts, who sends us His grace, and sets us at accord before the day of payment, to the end we may at last be friends in heaven, when all injuries shall be forgotten." Read more.
Pastoral Letter from Bishop Philip
The latest letter (October 2024 - Thou Shalt Not Kill) is available to read here or you can watch it on YouTube.
THOU SHALT NOT KILL
I write to you today because our country faces a lethal choice. I refer to the bill before Parliament to legalise what they call 'assisted dying.' I prefer to call it what it is: assisted suicide, helping someone to kill themselves.
"Thou Shalt not Kill" is an instinctive principle written into every human heart. It grounds the laws that govern every civilised society on earth. It is the teaching of all major religions, and it is fundamental to Christian morality and Catholic social teaching. …
All the Pastoral Letters from Bishop Philip are available on the Portsmouth Diocese website.
Closer to Christ Campaign
The Closer to Christ Campaign is a two-year initiative that will be delivered across the whole Diocese, with the am of raising £13.5million. Our vision for the Diocese is ‘bringing people close to Jesus Christ through his church’ and this project will help us realise our vision. This important endeavour has two key aims...
Going Into Hospital?
Upon admission, please state clearly that you are a Catholic Christian. If you want the Chaplain to visit you, you either need to complete the form in the Chapel, or speak to the Ward Sister in Charge.
The local Roman Catholic Church near Wexham Park Hospital is the Church of the Holy Redeemer, contact 01753 578328. In cases of emergency, call St Joseph’s Maidenhead on 01628 783988.